MoonfallTheFox wrote:
so I plan on getting chickens in the future. Not in the near future but after I'm out of college. I want a couple of hens, as pets mainly but I want a good bit of eggs too! Any breeds you recommend?
For laying leghorns are good, for brown eggs I would say red stars (a.k.a. production reds, red sex link, and other names)
For friendliness you would like Rhode Island reds, easter eggers or buff orpingtons.
Easter eggers lay blue/green/pink eggs as well as the regular brown and white (Each chicken lays its own color, so if one of them lays blue it will always lay blue and no other color) so they care fun pets, and are decently friendly little buggers too. They come in a variety of colors which also makes them fun. They are hardy too.
Leghorns are kind of skittish and have big combs that frost bite easily but they lay great and are very stunning birds. I would not suggest them if you want something you can hold and pet, and they are aggressive towards other chickens.
Red stars are good, and friendly, but are not the prettiest and do not seem to be that hardy. They are great layers at first, but after two years mine are already laying less and less. Normally they last a bit longer before egg production declines.
Rhode island reds are pretty average layers but they lay brown eggs and are very nice friendly little things. They are hardy and nice to each other, and cold does not seem to bother them.
Buff orpingtons are big fat hardy birds. They are nice with people but my three were very very mean to other birds and they went broody constantly. Their laying is ok.
Now if you want looks, there are more stunning breeds than I could count but for a nice small flock of friendly chickens I would suggest a mix of rhode island reds and easter eggers. The rhode island reds are friendly and would lay a lot, and the easter eggers are fun and somewhat friendly as well. Keep in mind i only suggested breeds I am familiar with and have owned, so someone who has owned or been around something different could give you good advice if you want to know about a specific breed.